Punch press



1. A LUTHER. Pun'cumss. APPLICATION; mfzn my I, 1929.

Patented Sept. 5,192

Patented Sept. 5, i922.

than;

JOHN A. LUTHER, F SCHENEGTADY, NEVT YORK.

runorr Planes.

Application filed May 1, 1920. Serial 170. 378,314.

Presses, of which the following is a speci-.

fication.

The present invention relates to punch presses and has for its object to provide an improved structure and arrangement in-a punch press for performing certain types of operations as will be fully pointed out hereinafter.

For a consideration of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the accompanying description and the claims appended thereto.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view on a larger scale of part of the machine looking in the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevation on feeding mechanism of the machine'shown in Fig. l, the same being shown horizontally as a matter of convenienceyFig. 4 is a sec tional view of the upper die structure; Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the lower die structure, and Figs. 6 and 7 show an article before and after it has been operated on by the machine;

In the present instance the machine is shown as provided with dies for operating on a ring 10, U-shaped in cross section, and in which a filler 11, such as an asbestos ring, has been placed as shown in Fig. 6, the dies operating to turn down the edges of the U- shaped ring as shown in'Fig. 7 to form a gasket. The particular gasket shown is more particularly for use in spark plugs. It will be understood, however, that my infound applicable.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 5 of the drawing, 12 indicates the frame of a punch press having a bed 13 to which is bolted a shoe 14 which carries the lower die structure. The upper die structure is carried by a re' ciprocating head 15 operated in the usual manner. These parts of the punchpress are shown in adiagrammatic manner only and larger scale of the die parts and the upper end of slot 29 or are to be taken as typical of an ordinary punch press structure j Beferrmg to Fig. 5 the lower die structui'e comprises a ring 16 carried by a holder 1'7 and having an opening through it of a diameter substantiallyjequal' tov the. inside diameter of ring 10. Surrounding the opening in ring 16 is. an annular groove 18 of a slze to'receive the rounded bottom. edge or a mug as shown 1n: F 1g. 6. Carried in recesses in ring 16- are twospaeed spring pressed stop pins 19 which project slightly above the top surface of ring 16..

The upper die structure, shown in "Fig. l,-

comprises a holder 20 which is fixed in reciprocating head and has an axially extending opening 21 counterbored at its upper end toform a recess 22. the lower end of holder by a nut 23 is an. inner die member 24 having a rounded nose 25 at the base ofwhich is a curved.

forming or operating surface 26. In nose 25 is a transverse slot 27' and extending aX- ially of die member 24. is an opening 28 which isin alignment with opening 21.

" Fastened on Also extendingtransverselyof die member 24-, above nose 25 is ail axially elongated slot 29. Pivoted in slot 27 one on each side-of opening 28 are two-catch fingers 30; having yond the surface of no .Se 25. Catch fingers 30 are pivoted adjacent their. upper ends and nose 25' and are connected together by a spring 32 which acts to. hold the catch fin gers in the position shown in Fig. 4. Surrounding inner die member 24 and movable axially thereon, is an outer die member 33 having a curved forming oroperating surface 34 which is complementary to surface 26 on inner die member 25. Outer die member 33 functions as an ejector also as willappear hereinafter. Outer die member 33.

is fastened to'inner die member 2a by a pin 35 which extends through slot 29 and as is clear, die member 33 may'slide up and down on die member 24' a certain amount, downend of'slot 29 and upward member 33 engaging'nut 23, or, by pin 35 engaging the both. The essential.

mwardly inclined outer surfaces: 30 andv rounded shoulders 31 which project just be-:

their lower ends extend below the end. of

. case in thing is that when die member 33 reaches the upper limit of its movement curved forming surface 34 is in line with forming surface 26 so as to form an annular semicircular groove. Extending through openings 21 28 is a post 33 through the lower end of which pin extends thus fastening them together. Ihe upper end of post 36 has a. head 37 located in counterbore 22 and beneath which is a spring 38 which acts to bias die member 33 to its uppermost position. However, when the punch press is at the top of its stroke, as is assumed to be the Fig. 4, head 37 strikes a fixed abutment as indicated by the dotted line 39 which forces die member 33 to its lowermost posi-- tion as shown in Fig. 4, at the same time putting spring 38 under compression.

The operation of the die structure is as follows: Assume the die structures to occupy the positions relatively to each as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. An unfinishedgasket as shown in Fig. 6 is placed in groove 18 of lower die member 16 with the open side pointing upward. The upper die structure then moves toward the lower die structure and as soon as head 37 leaves abutment 39 spring 38 raises outer die member 33 to its upper position so as to bring forming surface 34. into line with forming surface 26. As the two die structures come together, nose 25 passes through the center of the gasket or ring 10 and the lower rounded surfaces of shoulders 31 strike the inner edge of the gasket, the fingers turning so as to permit shoulders 31 to pass beyond the gasket. This pulls the lower ends of catch fingers 3O apart thus putting spring 32 under tension and as soon as shoulders 31 pass beyond the gasket the spring pulls the lower ends of the catch fingers together again thus swinging shoulders 31 out under the gasket. As the die structures are now forced tightly together, the open edges of U-shaped ring 10 will he turned toward each other by curved surfaces 26 and 34:, the result being a finished gasket as shown in Fig. 7. The upper die structure now moves away from the lower die structure and as it moves up the gasket is cai'ight on the upper sides of shoulders 31 and carried along with it. As the upper die structure approaches the end of its upward movement, head 37 strikes abutment 39 thereby forcing outer die member downward on inner die member 24 which results in pushing the gasket down past shoulders 31 and off the upper die structure. lhe outer die member 33 acts, therefore, as

' an ejector for knocking the finished gasket ofi the upper die structure. ,Vhen the gasket is forced down past shoulder 31, the shoulders are forced inwardly and the catch fingers 30 are again moved away from each other putting spring 32 under tension. As soon as the gasket moves beyond shoulders on v.4

3l,"spring returns the fingers to their original positions. The die structures are then ready to operate on another gasket.

As shown in Fig. 1, the die structures lie at an angle to the vertical so the finished gaskets when ejected from the upper die structure will fall out from between the two die structures into a suitable receptacle and in order to direct the gaskets from between the die structures into a receptacle, I provide an inclined chute i0 having side walls ll)? The lower end of chute 40 proj ects part way under the upper die structure and the upper end is fixed to ashaft 11 pivoted in two posts 42 carried by bed 13. Chute 410 is held yieldingly in the position shown in Figs. 1., 2 and 3'by a spring -13 having one end fastened to a post 12' and the other end by an arm a l projecting from shaft d1. Carried by one post 12 is a stop 45 which projects under arm 1 1 and limits the movement of chute 10 toward the upper die structure. VJ hen the upper die structure moves toward the lower one it strikes chute 40 moving it to one side and holding it there, the chute turning shaft 11 in its hearings in posts 42 and putting spring 4L3 under tension, and when the upper die structure moves back again spring 423 will bring chute 40 back under it in time to catch the gasket ejected from the upper die structure and direct it from between the die structures into a receptacle.

When the punch press is operating, the upper die structure is of course, moved con tinuously into engagement with and away from the lower die structure and on each stroke it can CUITlPlQtQ the formation of a gasket.

6 may be successively placed on the lower die structure by hand but preferably 1 provide an automatic means for feeding gaskets to the lower die structure, one on each stroke of the press. For this purpose 1 provide a table 48 adjacent the punch press and 011 it is arranged an endless belt 49 carried by rollers 50 which are supported by standarc s 51. Adjacent one side of belt 49 is a hopper 52 for holding a supply of unfinished gaskets. Hopper 52 is open on the side next to the belt, and leading from the bottom edge of such side down to the edge of belt 19 is an inclined wall 53. Along the edge of belt li) on the side opposite hopper 52 is a strip 54 which projects above the surface of the belt and serves as a stop for the gaskets and keeps them from falling off the belt. Belt 19 is continuously driven by a pulley wheel 55 to which power is" applied from any suitable source. On table d8 is a box 56 for receiving imperfect gaskets. Extend ing from the end of belt 49 which is ad jacent the punch press down to the lower die structure is an inclined trough 57 having side walls 58 and a top wall 59 such Unfinished gaskets as shown in Fl son.

, a star wheel carried by a shaft 61 which is pivoted in posts 62depen'din'g from the bottom of trough 57." On one end of shaft 61 is a ratchet wheel 63 having one tooth for each arm of the star wheel and engaging the teeth of theratchet wheel is a spring pawl 64: carried by a lever 65.

63 and is pivoted on shaft 61, and at an intermediate point it is connected to reciprocating head 15 by an arm '66. As head 15 moves do-wnwardlever 65 will be lowered moving pawl 64 one tooth along ratchet wheel 63, and as head 15 moves back, lever 65 will be raisedturning ratchet wheel 63, shaft 61 and star wheel 60 an angular dis tance equal to the distance between the arms of the star wheeli The operation of the feeding mechanism is as follows :A supply of unfinished gaskets, as shown in Fig. 6 is placed in hopper 52 and an operator, standing at the side of the hopper feeds them by. hand down wall 53 onto belt 49, placing them so the openside is up, any imperfect gaskets beingput in box 56. Belt 49 runs in a direction to feed the gaskets into trough 57 and the operator puts gasketson the'belt fast enoughto keep trough or well filled. The lowermost gasket rests against the arm of the star wheel which is projecting up through the slot in the bottom of the trough, and as the star wheel is turned step by step by the reciprocating motion of head 15, a gasket is fed forward or released on each up stroke of the head.

.When released the gasket slides down into the groove 18 of die member 16, pins 19 act ing as a stop for it. Since the upper die structure on its return stroke CiLlIlQS'lZhB finished gasket with it, die member 16 is always ready to receive the next gasket.

\Vith the foregoing machine, I am enabled to perform the operation described on successive gaskets at a very rapid rate and in an entirely automatic manner, the operator having only to place gaskets from hopper 52 onto belt 49, or in other words, feed themto trough 5'7. This is a simple manual operation and can be done by an unskilled per- The fact that the upper die structure comprises means for carrying up with it the finished gasket and then ejecting it from between the die structures greatly increases the speed of the 'machine for a finished gasket is never in the way of the forward movement of an unfinished gasket onto the lower die structure.

In accordance with the provisionsof the patent statutes, I have described the principle of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to Oneend of lever 65 is slotted so as to straddle wheel" represent the" best embodiment thereof, but

I desire to have it understood that the ap.-; paratusshown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means. K 1

What I claim as new and desire tov obtain by Letters Patent of the United v States, is:

1. In combination, a stationary die structure, amovable die structure adapted to move" into engagement with the stationary die structureto perform an operation on a device, yiel'dable catch fingers carried bygthe movable die structure for catching the device operated on and carrying it away with it, and means for automatically releasing the c'atch'fingers 2. Incombination, a

stationary die structure, a movable die structure adapted to move into engagement with the stationary die structure to perform an operation on a device, means form ng a part of the movable diestructure for catching the d'eviceoperv ated on and Carrying 1t away with 1t, means for ejecting the device from the movable die structure, and means actuated by the Q0 movable diestructure for feeding'devices to the stationary die structure. i

3. In combination, a stationary die structure, a movabledie structure adaptedto move into engagement with the stationary diestructure'toperform an operation on a device, means forming a part of themovable die structure for catching the device'operated'on and carrying it away with it, means j for ejecting" the device from the movable die structure, means for feeding devices to the stationary die structure, and automatic means actuated by the movable die structure forcontrolling said feeding means. 4; In combination, a stationary die struc ture, a movable die structure adapted to move into engagement withthe stationary die structure to perform, an operation on a device, yieldable catch fingers carried by the movable die structure for catching the device operated on and carrying it away with it,

vmeans for automatically releasing the catch fingers and means for directing anejected device from between the die structures. 5. In combination, a stationary die structure, movable die structure adapted to-move into engagement with the stationary die structure to perform an operation on a de- I vice, means forming a. part of the movable die structure for catching the device operated on and carrying it away with. it, means for ejecting the device from the movable die structure, means for directing an ejected device from between the die structures, and automatic means actuated by the movable 5 die structure for feeding devices one at atime to said stationary die structure.

6. In a die structure, an vinner die member having an operating surface, an outer die member slidable axially on'the inner die 1 means for removing the outer die member member and having an operating surface complementary to the operating surface on the inner die member, yieldable catch fingers carried by the inner die member for holding a device which has been operated on, and

on theinner die member for ejecting a device from said catch fingers.

T. In, a die structure for performing an operation on a ring, an inner die member having an operating surface and a nose provjecting beyond it, means carried by said nose adapted to pass through a ring and enit so as to carry a ring along with the die structure, an outer die member slidable on the inner die member and having an operating surface complementary to that on the inner die member, and means for moving the outer die member on the inner die member for ejectin a ring from the die structure.

8. In a die structure for performing an operation on a ring, an inner die member havin an o aeratin surface and a nose arol b C u I ectmg beyond 1t, provided w th a transverse slot catch fin ers aivoted in said slot and having shoulders which project beyond the side of the nose, said shoulders being adapted to pass beyond a ring and carry it along with the die structure, an outer die surface and adapted to engage a device to be operated on, and ejector means for ejecting a device off said catch means.

10. In a die structure for operating on a ring, a die member having an operating surface and a nose projecting in advance of such surface and provided with a transverse slot, catch fingers pivoted in said. slot and having shoulders adapted to pass through a ring and project under it, and ejector means for forcing a ring off said shoulders.

11. In a punch press for performing an operation on a ring, a stationary di'e memher having a central opening and a groove surrounding it and adapted to receive a ring,

a movable die structure having a p rt for performing an operation on a ring and a means which engages the ring to carry it along with the movable die structure, and an ejector which is actuated when the movable die structure approaches the end of its return stroke for knocking the ring off the engaging means.

12. In a punch press for performing an operation on a ring, a stationary die mem her having a central opening and a groove surrounding it and adapted to receive a ring, a movable die structure having a part for performing an operation on a ring and a yielding-catch means which passes through a ring and engages it to carry the ring along with the movable die structure, an ejector for knocking a ring off said catch means,

and automatic means actuated by the :movementof the movable die structure for feeding rings one at a time to the groove in said stationary die member.

in witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 30 day of April, 1920.

JOHN A... Lurrmn 

